title: Young adults who smoke cigarettes and marijuana: analysis of thoughts and behaviors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Smoking both cigarettes and marijuana is increasingly common among young adults, yet little is known about use patterns, motivations, or thoughts about abstinence. In a U.S. sample, this study explored young adults' severity of cigarette and marijuana co-use, quit attempts, and thoughts about use.
  
  
  METHODS
  Young adults age 18-to-25 who had smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days completed an anonymous online survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 1987 completed surveys, 972 participants reported both past-month cigarette and marijuana use (68% male, 71% Caucasian, mean age 20.4 years [SD=2.0]). Frequency of use, temptations to use, measures of dependence, decisional balance, and past-year quit attempts were associated across the two substances (all p<.05), but not motivation to quit. Relative to marijuana, participants reported greater desire and a later stage of change for quitting cigarettes and were more likely to endorse a cigarette abstinence goal, yet they had lower expectancy of success with quitting cigarettes and with staying quit (all p<.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cigarette and marijuana use, temptations to use, and pros/cons of using were related in this young adult sample. Differences in motivation and thoughts about abstinence, however, suggest that young adults may be more receptive to interventions for tobacco than marijuana use. Use patterns and cognitions for both substances should be considered in prevention and intervention efforts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, Box TRC 0984, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States. Electronic address: Danielle.ramo@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Danielle E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Ramo
authors.forename: Kevin L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Delucchi
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Sharon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Judith J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Prochaska
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D009042:Motivation; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cigarette; Internet; Marijuana; Survey; Tobacco; Young adulthood